Son of senior lawyer hauled to court for evading NS

SINGAPORE — The elder son of senior lawyer Tan Chee Meng was hauled to court on Friday (Jan 13) for flouting the Enlistment Act by remaining outside the Republic for over a decade without an exit permit. Jonathan Tan Huai En, 28, has since returned to Singapore and is now serving National Service (NS) as a preventive medicine technician.

In December 2000, Tan migrated to Canada with his family as he and his brother were unable to cope with studying Chinese language in school. Only his father, a Senior Counsel who is now the deputy chairman of WongPartnership, remained in Singapore due to a lack of work opportunities overseas.

Determined to leave Singapore for good, Jonathan Tan and his family — mother, older sister and younger brother — applied for Canadian citizenship. Tan received it in 2005, and continued to study and work in Canada, graduating from the University of British Columbia with a Masters of Engineering in Clean Energy and getting a job at a multinational corporation.

However, Tan never renounced his citizenship in Singapore, and was liable to serve NS. Between December 2005 and June 2006, the Ministry of Defence sent Tan three Registration Notices informing him to register for NS and medical screening. Central Manpower Base (CMPB) officers also visited his father’s registered address at a Hillview condominium twice.

In 2009, his father informed CMPB that Tan wanted to give up his Singapore citizenship, and asked if the latter’s NS obligations could be waived.

CMPB replied that Tan would first have to serve NS before renouncing his citizenship. They also told Mr Tan Chee Meng that his son had been classified as a defaulter, and would have to return to Singapore as soon as possible.

According to Tan’s defence lawyer Josephine Choo, he was unaware that his NS liabilities had not been resolved. He only realised this in 2013, when his grandfather fell gravely ill and Tan wanted to visit him. His mother then told him that he would be arrested upon setting foot in Singapore.

Tan decided to return on May 5, 2015, and reported to CMPB the following day. He enlisted last January. His younger brother Isaac has also returned to Singapore and is under investigation.

Deputy Public Prosecutor (DPP) Houston Johannus asked for a five-month jail sentence for Tan. “It (NS evasion) puts the defaulter in a better position compared to others who have fulfilled their NS (obligations) when they were required to do so,” said the DPP. “It is more egregious if the defaulter makes a calculated decision to place his personal interests ahead of his NS obligations and only fulfil the latter at the time of his choosing.”

Ms Choo, however, asked for a fine to be imposed. She argued that Tan had taken steps to return “as soon as he could”, upon discovering that his NS issue was unresolved. “The only reason why he’s back today is because he needs to resolve his issues, otherwise he’s in a state of flux (and) can’t renounce his citizenship,” she said.

Tan returns to court on Feb 2 for his sentencing.